Einstein A (1954)

Statement for a conference of the Emergency Civil Liberties Committee, 3 March. Albert Einstein Archives, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, 28-1025.

Key passage(s)

Translation

“Academic freedom as I understand it means having the right to seek the truth and to publish and teach what is believed to be true. Naturally this right comes together with the duty not to withhold a part of what is believed to be true. It is clear that any restriction on academic freedom hinders the dissemination of knowledge in the population and therefore restrains rational judgement and action.”

Translation by Harry Hemingway and Claudia Langenberg

Acknowledgements

The editors are grateful to:

Ze’ev Rosenkranz, for providing an image of Einstein’s letter, and to Harry Hemingway and Claudia Langenberg for translating it from the original German